Baggerlord, The white line is your MA? Would the BB pierce at approx. 8:15 on your chart have been an entry if the MA was closer to 45 degree slope? Are you using a 5 minute chart? Thanks, Bruce Hawkins
Well, I've been trading over ten years now and my experience has proven to me that it is impossible to "guess" which ones will work and which ones won't. My hat is off to those that can do it, but I think that 80-90% of the people on this board that say they make money trading (as well as the "educators") are full of crap.
MA @ 45 degree angle? How is that measured? I can make just about any MA a 45 degree angle at a given time by changing the horizontal scale of my chart.
Quah, I used about 25-30 bars as my basic picture. That is my reference frame for the 5-minute bars. Also, I found better results yesterday using the ES rather than the NQ contract. Bruce
Sempai, I think the point is the minute you start picking and choosing which trades you are going to take then you are gambling. Determine what constitutes an edge, use filters, and then each and every time that edge presents itself you have to execute. If you have been in the market for 10 years, you must be doing something right. Congratulations. regards, Bruce Hawkins p.s. I am definitely not making money trading at this point and time, but I am still full of crap, just ask my wife.
lol Bruce. But that was my point - you can't pick and choose, because then you are gambling, but even the so called system traders will tell you that a particular system will only work at certain times, which puts them in the position of having to guess when to use it and/or determine if it will work again at all. I talked to Richard Saidenberg (developer of R-Breaker and some other hot selling systems about ten years ago) when I was going through my "systems phase" and even he admitted to me that when he traded his systems, he occasionally ignored "bad" signals.
I don't really care exactly what angle the MA is at, this and the BB are just visual aids to draw my attention to unusual occurances. I look at the actual price action and volume as well, and base my decision on this. That was a 5 minute chart I posted, but I also like using a 300 tic chart for trades like this. I am constantly changing charts during the day to give myself different perspectives on the action. The ES would have performed better yesterday, but I prefer the NQ now because I have a relatively small account(I am new) and find the NQ to be much less risky to trade. You all are right about mechanical systems not working all the time. Certain systems work well in trending markets, and others work well in ranging markets. You have to learn to recognize this, and IMO this is one of the most important aspects of daytrading. From my very short experience the most valuable indicator of this is the volume.
Baggerlord, I have never really been open to the clues that volume may offer, could you explain a little further on what you have noticed. regards, Bruce Hawkins A rock is acted upon by outside forces, but a flower opens to the world receiving what is available and grows. (Don't ask, I am obviously not a poet and I know it)
bdixon619 and fasterpussycat, I've asked the administrator to change the following sentence: My hat is off to those that can do it, but I think that 99% of the people on this board that say they make money trading (as well as the "educators") are full of crap. to read: My hat is off to those that can do it, but I think that 80-90% of the people on this board that say they make money trading (as well as the "educators") are full of crap. Other than that, I still stand by what I said. Regardless, the only people that should be offended by my statement are the ones that are full of crap, or those who don't want to hear how difficult trading really is. If the shoe fits, wear it. As far as community goes, I'm doing the community a favor by warning people (especially newbies) to take everything they read on this board with a grain of salt. If you are going to use a mentor or educational service, be equally skeptical.